


#31 Hate

by Kyarorain



Series: Poké100 [31]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-16
Updated: 2011-02-16
Packaged: 2018-01-06 02:24:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1101264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyarorain/pseuds/Kyarorain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Paul was even more irritated than ever by Ash, enough to say something hurtful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	#31 Hate

"I hate you."

Sure, he knew that he was far from being Paul's favorite person in the whole world but those three words still made him feel more hurt than he had thought possible. He had been heading back to the Pokémon Center, where Brock and Dawn were waiting for him, after a training session with his Pokémon, and happened to run into Paul just outside the building. It was only natural that Ash would have chosen to approach his rival and talk to him and he failed to notice the increasingly annoyed expression on Paul's face. Paul hadn't said a word while Ash was talking to him, asking innocent questions like if he had gone to the gym yet and should they battle each other soon. Eventually, he had grabbed Ash by the arms and slammed him into the wall of the Pokémon Center. Those three words had then issued from Paul's mouth.

"You hate me?" Ash said in a small voice, feeling a sudden spike of irritation at how upset he had sounded just then. He didn't want Paul to know how badly he had hurt his feelings, though at this point he doubted Paul would even care.

Paul stared at him with narrow eyes. To him, Ash was a complete nuisance and he thought the world would be much better off without such irritating people like him. He never could keep his mouth shut and he always questioning Paul's own methods of training Pokémon. If Paul wanted to only collect strong Pokémon and let go of the weak ones, he felt he could do as he wished. What right did Ash have to be telling him what to do?

He'd even had the nerve to go and take Chimchar for his own. Paul didn't care what became of that useless Pokémon after he let it go, but for some reason, Ash proceeding to take it in had annoyed him just a bit. It was practically sticking his nose in his business all over again.

"That's what I said," Paul hissed, holding onto Ash's wrists and digging his fingers into the flesh as he pinned him against the wall. He smirked slightly as he saw the flicker of pain and discomfort pass over Ash's face. "What's the matter? Did I hurt your feelings?"

"Paul, stop it. You're hurting me," Ash protested, looking into his hard eyes. He found himself disliking Paul pretty often, but he wouldn't have gone so far to say he hated him to his face. How could Paul even say such a thing?

"You are so pathetic," Paul murmured, putting his face close and smiling as he saw the injured expression on Ash's face. He liked seeing how hurt he looked. "Sometimes, I wish you were just gone. It would be one less annoyance to deal with." Sometimes he wondered what it would be like, never having to put up with someone like him. On his worse days, he even wondered if he would be capable of forcing him to disappear. It was an appealing thought at times.

"Just get lost, Paul," Ash said in a tight voice, feeling the sting of tears at the back of his eyes. He would absolutely not let his emotions take over, not in front of someone like him. "I hate you too."

"No, you don't. If you did, you would just leave me alone. Which would be exactly what I want." Paul stepped back and whirled around, walking away. He couldn't handle this, not today. Ash watched him leave, forcing back the thick lump in his throat.

Why did it hurt so much?


End file.
